All Fall Down
by Scarlet Royal
Summary: After Castle & Kate become estranged Seas.1 Ep10, copy-cat killer has sprung from jail to seek revenge on Rick through Nikki akaKate .Will Castle be able to single-handedly save her? Or,will the killer who once brought them together bring about their end
1. Chapter 1

All Fall Down

***Epilogue***

"Look who's here, it's the writer monkey! I thought you were done with your book already," said Will, in a joking tone.

"Last chapter," said Castle matter-of-factly, while looking over at Kate, who was staring at him as if his face would reveal answers as to why he was there.

"Can I have a moment?" asked Castle, his face serious and stricken by what had appeared to be worry.

"Watch out, he likes you Kate," said Will, smiling at Kate as she got up to join Castle in the hallway.

"Don't listen to him," she chuckled, "he's heavily medicated."

When in the hallway, Castle instructed Kate to sit down. She just laughed at Castle's serious tone and then asked what he had to talk about.

Castle replied with four words that he still regretted saying, no matter how necessary they were.

"It's about your mother," he chocked.

---Castle Season 1 Episode 10 "A Death in the Family"

Castle would have no idea that four words spoken from the heart and a missing book chapter that he later wrote, would bring about what happened in the next chapter of his life. Not to mention Kate's as well…

Chapter 1: Writer of Wrongs

A pool of blood lay upon the ice cold sidewalk. As you look to the side of it, you can see a man on the floor behind a parked car with a look of frozen horror upon his bloody face. On his arms there are scrawled messages in pen. As you look closer, you can see that it is a neatly written list of the wrongs the victim has committed against their killer. As if killing wasn't good enough revenge, the killer had to write out every "wrong" the poor victim had supposedly taken upon him. Suddenly, a figure in a long black coat and sunglasses loomed over the decrepit body.

That's when Castle was fed up and switched the TV channel.

"Just another crime show with a detective fixated on their sunglasses," thought Castle, annoyed.

He rubbed the remote in his hands and like most days lately, his thoughts wandered to Kate. Where was she now at this very moment? Had she forgiven his unforgivable action, sneaking into her mother's file? Did she completely loathe him? Would she ever speak to him, or see him again? Did she read his first completed Nikki Heat novel? And lastly…How did a self-absorbed detective send his mind reeling with thoughts of Kate?

Kate was the furthest thing from self-absorbed after all. She had enough courage to make Hercules question himself, but she would never, ever regard herself as a hero. She always called her heroism just "her job" when he had felt so much admiration for her traits and felt he needed to tell her so. Why did he have to hurt such a beautiful person? Maybe that was one of the reasons he had always liked being an author. You could have a world all your own, go in the direction you wanted it to. You could never hurt your characters. They were just a deep part of yourself that you decided to share in the form of a fictional person that was your imagination, your thoughts, yourself, put into a simulated world. Why could he never have the mildest bit of control over his own life?

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a newscaster on the TV discussing the rapid-success of his new novel.

"People have been waiting up all night, in all of the book chains all over the U.S., for acclaimed author Richard Castle's new _Nikki Heat_ series opener titled All Fall Down!" exclaimed a newscaster, who was reporting outside a New York bookstore, looking rather excited about the book release himself. Castle's eyes quickly scanned down the crowds. Was Kate there?

The news report went on to talk about Castle's _Nikki Heat_ dedication to a mysterious "Kate." Castle watched as the reporter asked people about who they thought she was and he found humor in their poor answers. Later in his chat with the fans, the reporter even took the liberty of giving away the book's ending, while gabbing with another fan, who had already read the novel.

"Spoiler!" exclaimed Castle jokingly, as if he did know the ending to his own book.

Castle had chosen to end the novel as a cliffhanger. In it, Nikki Heat was forced to confront the novel's main killer, alone, because many of her partners in the story had failed her. In the very ending of the novel, the killer took her hostage. Despite all of her cleverness and bravery, in the end it has appeared that she has failed and feels helpless, because the people, who she thought mattered most in her life, let her down. After he had written the last chapter, he found it eerily similar to the way he had wronged Kate. He left her life hanging, from the balance it had once had. Kate had been to therapy to try and create a steady world for herself. Why did he have to selfishly shatter that?

Even thought the ending was not his original intentions for the novel, Castle felt he was forced to end the book in that way. He had a deadline to meet and he also had no idea how to continue the Nikki Heat series. After all, the real life Nikki heat influence, Kate, probably had no intentions of ever coming in contact with him again. How could he write a solid ending to a book, when he had no idea where his real life was heading? Heck, he even changed the title of the book as well. It could not be Heat Wave. There was no _heat_ in a relationship gone flat was there?

The newscaster finished the whole segment by saying that Richard Castle was not attending any release parties this year, because of "unknown circumstances." Castle- surprised some stalker-fans did not know where he was-smiled (something that was a rarity these days). The only two people he told he was leaving to the family vacation house were Martha and Alexis. They would never tell anybody where he was, but even without saying a word; somehow the stalkers had a way of knowing where he was.

His thoughts were interrupted again, by another headline news story. A man by the name of "Harrison Tisdale" had sprung himself from a New York prison three days before and he was still on the run. "More trouble for the NYPD," thought Castle.

Wait one second, wasn't Harrison Tisdale the copy-cat killer that had brought Kate and Castle together for their first case? His suspicions were affirmed, when he saw his face flash on the TV screen. The reporters also said that odd message was scrawled on a bench in his jail cell.

"One shall know, but never find."

"Wow the creep read my latest book, too. Glad to see he is keeping up… even from jail," thought Castle, referring to the quote scrawled on his bench, that was used in the latest Nikki Heat book. Castle just sat on his couch for a moment unfazed by the new information, but then a thought hit him like a brick.

The only reason he would risk the danger that comes with breaking from a high-security prison, would be revenge.

Who would he be the angriest with now?

The answer only took him a moment.

The message scrawled on the bench was intended for him. Who else would know what others would consider a trivial line? That line, taken from the Nikki Heat book, was spoken by the main killer, when he told Nikki he left clues for her other partners to find her, but they would still fail in doing so, because of their lack to concern and love for her. Harrison was trying to send him a message. He wanted revenge, but how could he do that when he had no idea where he was? In what way could he seek revenge on him now?

Unless…

Caste quickly grabbed his cell phone and speed dialed home. He got Martha to pick up and chat for awhile. Alexis also talked to her father, too. Both were glad to hear from him and eager for him to return home. They were also puzzled by Castle's questions. He has asked repeatedly if they were ok and they were doing just fine.

After the call was finished he felt bit more at ease, but he had one more person to call. Somebody he had not spoken with in almost two months. The real-life Nikki Heat and now that her identity was revealed on a dedication page, she faces moral danger. He blocked-out his number… took a deep breath… and called Kate Beckett.

He listened to the empty ringing on the other end, but suddenly he heard Kate's voice. Sadly, it was not her in person. It was just the voicemail. This event struck Caste as being strange for two reasons. One: She always picked up her phone, because she might be receiving an important business call. Two: Her voicemail message was odd. She said who she was, leave a message and all that jazz, but she coughed repeatedly during it. It was as if there was some secret code she wanted to convey in coughs. He also could have sworn that near the ending of the message she said "Nikki" in an exasperated whisper. To what importance would that be, if that was what she said?

Haunted by the message he tried to call her at the office. If she was not picking up her cell phone, she would definitely pick up the office phone…she had too.

But she did not…

Castle found himself worried sick. His suspicions over Harrison's spring from jail were growing into fears for Kate that left him crazy. He decided to board a flight for New York the next morning. As he went to bed, he wished he could stop hurting people in real life…and now recently, through his writing. He really was a writer of wrongs now… wrongs that kept hurting those he loved most…

He also wished he could wipe the horrid thoughts of Kate being tortured in his nightmares.

If only, If only…

His life seemed to be filled with too many of those.

**Author's Note**: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, COMMENT AND RATE!!! There is nothing more rewarding for an author than to hear how somebody feels about their work. Constructive comments welcomed as well!!! Thanks for reading my story. ***Scarlet***


	2. Chapter 2 Visions of People Past

All Fall Down

Chapter 2: Visions of People Past

_3 Days Earlier_

"If only it weren't so hot outside," thought Kate, feeling the blazing sun seer down on her face.

It had been about two months since she had spoken to Castle (not that she had kept close track, or anything like that). All she could feel at this moment in her life was an inner-rage, burning brighter than the heated sun. Castle was supposed to be the one who cheered her up…even when she refused to have him around. He wasn't a grim reaper figure that bore death and bad news. She had enough of those people in her life; she did not need any more.

She often viewed him as somebody too happy for his own good. Sometimes excessive happiness all the time is a bad thing, but even Richard Castle proved her preconceived assumptions wrong. He was a man who wore many masks. He had more to him beyond his surface than she could figure out (or did not want to, for that matter).

Why did he disobey her and leave her in the dust?

Kate pushed away her thoughts and took out a mystery novel (not one of Castle's) from her bag. As she started to read, she felt calmer. After all, what better place is there to read than a beach with nobody around?

Well, she thought nobody was around…until she saw a figure striding up the beach…

Could it be?

Yes…sure enough…it was Richard Castle.

He looked rather care-free, in his jeans, sunglasses and blue polo, until he started to approach her. A small crease started to form in his brow. He looked concerned.

"Loving the swimsuit Kate," he said, his face slowly turning brighter.

"Oh," said Kate, grabbing a towel to put over her.

Castle ignored the action.

"If I would have known that you were here, I would have worn my swimsuit too!" he said.

"Your loss, not mine," replied Kate, turning a page on her novel.

"That's what you keep telling yourself," he said grinning.

"How do you know what I think? How do you even know who I am?" she asked.

"I'm your subconscious Kate," he replied.

"What?" she asked. She looked up at him and put aside her novel because she was very confused by his latest comment.

"Seriously Kate… a beach…good one… did you think that this whole thing was real? It's all a dream."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes it is, and your dinner is burning! I think you should wake up from your after-work nap, even if it means leaving beautiful me!" he said with an ear-to-ear grin.

"Oh do you have to be like this in my subconscious too?" asked Kate.

"I am a figure of _your_ imagination. You made this monster!"

"Perhaps," agreed Kate.

The whole scene faded as she woke up to the smoke alarm. Castle was right. The lasagna was being fried.

***

She ran to the kitchen still feeling like she was still living outside of herself, in her dream world. She could not lie; a part of her wanted to spend time with Castle, even the imaginary version.

She quickly came to the oven to find the lasagna expelling wisps of dark black smoke. She hit the button on the fire alarm with a broom pole, so it would stop it's whining. Now that the task was done, Kate went over to the oven to see the damage that was done. She turned off the oven and grabbed her oven mitts to take out the burning glob that was once lasagna.

"Shoot!" she exclaimed, as she took the blob out of the oven.

"I think you're going to have to bottle up that anger quickly Kate. Otherwise, there will be trouble," whispered a voice that came from the room.

Kate jumped and instinctively grabbed the biggest frying pan lying on her kitchen counter.

"Who's there?" she asked in a bare whisper, her voice slowly being cut off by impending fear.

"Put the pan down Kate," the voice said forcefully. "Do not think that I can't see you because I can."

Kate slowly began to put down the pan. Her eyes desperately searched for this mystery person, whom she presumed by his voice to be male. As she put down the pan, she used her other hand to grab a knife from the drawer behind her. She was not going down without a fight.

The mystery person observed her actions and said, "Kate, I believe gun beats knife and frying pan."

He steadily walked out from behind the side of the refrigerator, pointing his gun directly at her. Kate gasped. She knew this man-she had seen him once before-he was the copy-cat killer. He had the unmistakable shadowy dark brown eyes and a testing sneer about his lips. He was Harrison Tisdale.

Kate shuddered inside. This was is. He had her.

She was out of moves.

Checkmate.


	3. Knock, Knock, Who’s there?

_Author's Note: This update took long enough, right? Thanks for putting up with the delay and I hope you will find that the wait was worth it. Since I already wrote the next chapter for this story, it will be coming soon. One last thing: PLEASE COMMENT AND RATE!!! It gives much needed motivation for stories to be told, a reason to capture the imagination.—Thanks to my fan fic family always-- Scarlet _

Knock, Knock, Who's there?

Richard Castle walked through the gate of the airport terminal dazed, confused, and sleep deprived. Garbed in half day clothes, half pajamas, he was a sight to see.

"Are you going to board this flight soon?" an attendant asked. "Or, do you need a little wake up?"

Castle turned around, so his tired face was visible to the attendant. He began to groggily pick up his luggage, when the flight attendant noticed who he was.

"Oh my! You're Richard Castle! It is an honor to meet you! My name is Bill!" He extended his hand and smiled at the exhausted author.

Castle, who got less than one hour of sleep, nodded at the enthusiastic attendant and shook his hand.

"I'm sorry Kate, I will pick up my luggage and board." he said, in a daze. Castle's thoughts were so consumed with worries about Kate, his speech made little sense.

The flight attendant gave him a questioning look and said, "I thought I told you my name was Bill, not Kate," he looked a bit offended and added "I am a dude too! I am not a chick!"

"Whatever you say, Kate," replied Castle, as he walked up the ramp to board the plane.

The flight attendant just watched the crazed author board in silence. What was wrong with him? He did not know whether he should feel sorry for him, or speed dial the funny farm.

***

After being refreshed from a couple hours of sleep on the plane, Castle headed into the precinct.

"Hello everybody!" said Castle. He tried to sound as pleasant as he could.

Despite his efforts, Ryan and Esposito still continued typing on their computers and looking through files.

Castle tried a second time.

"Hello Detectives Ryan and Esposito, How are you doing today?"

"How do you think we are doing?" questioned Ryan. He did not even bother to look up at Castle.

"Um, you are busy kicking convict butt, right?" said Castle.

"Great guess Castle, we are very busy. Thanks to recent events, we have been working overtime every day." snapped Esposito. His tone-of-voice was one that he had never used when talking to Castle before. He usually reserved that for the convicts.

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Castle. He was almost afraid to ask the next question. "Why did this overload fall to you guys?"

"Hmm where do I start?" began Ryan, "Let's just say thanks to you, we are missing a very productive member of our force."

"Me?" questioned Castle.

"Yes you," Esposito provided. "You are the reason why Kate had to take all this time off. Don't lie to us and say something different because that is what she told Lanie.

Castle stood there dumbfounded. He wanted to get all of the detectives at the precinct to help him find Kate. The only thing they were going to help him find was the way out. He was going to get the boot soon, he could sense it.

"I am so sorry about that. I need to tell Kate I am sorry as well, but I think she is miss-" Castle was cut off by Ryan, who would hear none of his excuses.

"I know what you did. I would like to think of you in a better light, but doing that to Kate…that is low."

"How could you bring it up?" asked Esposito. "I thought when I gave you the file…you said that Kate would hear nothing about it!"

Ryan nodded in approval.

"Wait, Ryan knows you gave me the file?" Castle asked.

"Of course he does," Esposito said, "he is the person who organizes the file room."

"I see, but I-" Castle began.

"-but nothing," finished Ryan.

Both detectives rose from their chairs and began to usher Castle to the door.

He hastily got up and left the precinct. Before the door slammed, Castle heard Esposito say, "Fix what you did to Kate and then you can come back."

"_Well, that will be hard…if I never get the chance to be forgiven," _Castle thought, grimly.

***

The next stop on Castle's list of places he needed to go was Kate's apartment. No, he was not going to break into it, but things could be learned from going there. He discovered the address from the precinct directory book many months ago, when things were still going smoothly.

Castle found himself at the right apartment complex and he looked at her room number on a card in his hand. He wandered about the apartment until he came to the right address. When he finally found it, he knocked on the door and held his breath.

"I see you aren't the only one who is worried about Kate," said a voice directly behind Castle. He jumped and faced a tired-looking Lanie.

"Oh, I was um-" Castle started.

"It's okay Castle, I know you wouldn't be breaking into somebody's house." Lanie gave him a light smile and moved towards the door of Kate's apartment with a set of keys. "I live two floors down in this very apartment building and Kate gave me her keys the night before she planned to leave on a vacation. That was the last time I saw her," she explained.

"I knew she was on some kind of leave, but I did not know that was what she did," Castle said, with a tone of disbelief in his voice. "Did she really leave on a vacation, like a trip?"

"Well, that's the question of the day isn't it?" said Lanie. "If you want my opinion on that matter, I would say something else is up. You see, Kate was not sure if she was going to leave town. She said she would call me if she was, so I could collect her mail and watch over the apartment."

Castle felt he knew where this was going. "So, she never called, right?"

"You're right. Kate never did call me back. I went to her apartment the next morning to see if she was ok and I wanted to know if she was leaving. I kept knocking on her door and with every empty thud, I knew she was gone."

"When was this?" Castle asked.

"Last Friday," Lanie admitted. "But, I have been looking for her and I tried to find out what happened ever since then."

"What do you think happened?" asked Castle.

"I really don't know. I was going to ask you the same thing," Lanie replied.

"I think I have a good idea what is going on, but you have to promise to listen to the whole story. No matter how crazy it might sound. Do you promise?"

Lanie sat down on a bench in the hallway outside Kate's apartment door and said, "Ok I'm ready."

Lanie stayed and listened as Castle went through the whole story to his understanding. He talked about the eminent danger regarding Harrison's spring from jail, the strange message left on his jail cell bench, and Kate's odd voicemail as well. He pieced the story together as best he could. Even though he had no way to prove what Harrison was doing, he needed Lanie to believe him. He could not be the knight in shining armor alone. He needed help.

When he was done with his story, Lanie got up from the bench and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" asked Castle. He was scared he lost another source of help.

"_We_ are going inside Kate's apartment to look for clues. If Harrison really did take Kate, she did not go down without a fight. She's too smart for that."

She clicked the lock open with the keys and they entered the apartment. She was careful to kick the door open and not to touch the doorknob. (She would get the fingerprints from that later.) Castle looked around and admired the little place Kate had for herself. It was not much, but it had a real homey feel to it. He glanced over to a small table that had a lamp and a framed photo of her mother on it. In the picture Kate was between her beaming parents and she was holding a present. It appeared to be her birthday. He picked up the photo to find Kate's neat handwriting on the back.

_Photo Taken: September 1__st__ 1998_

_Joanna Beckett Enters Eternal Life: September 1__st__ 1998_

_Last Picture Taken of Mom_

_R.I.P._

"Kate's mom died on her birthday?" Castle asked. He was shocked. His face whipped around, so he was looking at Lanie.

"Well, Joanna was killed when she was about to join the family at a restaurant for Kate's birthday dinner. So to answer your question, she did die on her birthday."

Castle was struck by the magnitude of sadness that statement contained. "Why…why didn't she tell me that?"

"Don't feel left out. I looked at her mother's file after I knew her for two years and I realized her birthday was the same day her mother died." She paused and looked at the picture on the table. "I guess Kate does not need sympathy. She does not want somebody to feel sorry for her. Kate needs empathy. She wants people to understand who she is."

"I guess you're right," Castle replied. "But, I still feel bad that I didn't know."

"I did too. When I found out, I felt like I did not know her…" Lanie said. Her eyes stretched around the room looking for any sign of a brake in. "…well, not as well as I thought I did," she finished.

Castle and Lanie's search took them into Kate's living room. There, they found what they were looking for. Behind a sofa, in a disorganized heap, were all of Castle's books. They were scattered and dumped about.

"Oh my!" gasped Lanie. "There really was a break in. Kate would not leave all of these books like this."

Castle's heart panged as he looked at the disordered scene about her living room. He could tell Kate had made the mess in order to leave a silent clue that she was abducted. Castle's eyes scanned all of the strewn books. He thought she owned all of his novels and it turned out he was right. Inside his heart he wished Kate was there, so he could joke about her home library collection. Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by the opened copy of "Storm Rising" he gave her. It stuck out because under his message and autograph he wrote all those months ago, there was another inscription, but this one was scribbled, as if it were written in a hurry.

_Old enemy has taken me to the oldest brick warehouse._

_Nikki_

"Look at this," exclaimed Castle. He brought the scribbled message to Lanie.

"That's Kate's handwriting alright, she affirmed. "It is a bit messier than usual, but that should be expected."

"What do you think the message means?" Castle asked.

"I think the message affirms what you thought. Kate was abducted by Harrison, or the 'Old Enemy' and she must have dawdled for enough time to get that message on paper."

"I think that is what she is saying too, but why didn't Kate tell us where she was, so we could find her?"

"That's simple. If Kate were to give out any information about Harrison and he found it, she would be in trouble. She had to leave a small clue. I think Harrison must have noticed she was up to something because he made her put the books behind the couch. She probably pretended to knock them all over."

"That's really smart," Castle marveled.

"It is really smart," Lanie agreed. "And thanks to Kate, we have our first lead. We are looking for an old brick warehouse and I have a feeling I know where to look."

Lanie's eyes glanced over to a worried Castle, who was staring out at a darkening stormy sky outside the apartment.

"You ok Castle?" she asked.

He paused and thought about that question. "I don't know how I am going to do this," he confessed.

"Do what?" Lanie asked.

"I don't know how I am going to find Kate. It's my fault that she is gone."

"It's not your fault Castle. A criminal took her away from us and you did not do that," Lanie reassured. "Whether you have realized it or not, Kate loves you and nothing will change that thought. Sure, she could bicker with you, but her inner feelings are the same."

"I wish you were right," Castle said.

"I know I am right. Remember, I have my primary sources." Lanie smiled and continued, "You are not going to battle this one alone. Even if a have to pull a couple strings at the office, I will make sure we find Kate."

"Thanks." Castle sighed for only a moment. He was relieved he had help, but this was going to be a long road ahead. What happened to the hero he always thought he was? Apparently he had seen better days because his heroic-self was nothing when Kate wasn't there to compliment it.

Living in the shadows of the strong was easy.

Coming out from your hiding place, to face the world on your own, was another story.

A story that could only be told with time and hopefully time would play in the favor of Richard Castle.

***

Meanwhile…

Harrison sat on a chair in an old, broken down warehouse, contemplating his latest feat. He had Richard Castle and Kate Beckett right where he wanted them. It was if he had their lives on a string and he could hover over them like The Fates…just waiting…to cut the thread of life…with a shining pair of sizzors…

_Author's Note: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE COMMENT AND RATE!!! Nothing makes my day more than hearing your feedback! Thanks so much! More chapters and surprising twists will be coming soon!!!--Scarlet_


	4. Kill Two Birds with One Stone

**Author's Note: I updated the story again! Don't worry because more will be coming soon, in light of the Castle premiere! Please READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY!!!**

* * *

Kill Two Birds with One Stone

Kate found herself staring into a warm, white light. She felt all the pain and suffering she endured with being held hostage melt away. It was like she was an entirely new person.

This new place was wonderful and inviting, but she had to wonder…Where am I? This question began to answer itself as she heard the crash of waves and she felt the soft rush of the sand across her feet. She used her hand as a visor against the strong light of the sun and she realized that this place was rather familiar.

This was the beach where she saw Castle in her last dream…

She started to look down the stretch of beach. Would Castle enter her dreams again? Perhaps he would, but in the meantime, she would sit on the comfy beach chair that her subconscious provided for her in the last dream as well. She slowly settled into the chair and let her mind drift off...

Until…her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hey look, it's Castle!" the voice shouted.

Kate whipped her head around to see a lady standing by a large _sand_castle. The woman laughed at Kate's sudden whip-around of her head and said, "Made you look, Kate!" She smiled and continued, "Well, it was _a castle_, just not _the Castle _you are thinking about!"

Kate squinted, so she could make out the figure standing alongside the blazing sun. How could she not notice her before? Didn't she look around before she sat down in the beach chair?

She dismissed the thoughts as the figure became clear in her vision. She could not believe who it was.

"Mom?" she asked.

"Hello Kate!" she said and held her arms out for a hug. "I've missed you!"

"Me too!" said Kate, tears started to roll from her eyes.

After all this time of being separated, Kate found her mother's presence extremely comforting. She looked up into her face, to find that she had aged gracefully. Her dark brown hair got a bit lighter, but other than that, she still had the warm cocoa brown eyes and the lit-up smile.

When their embrace ended, Joanna peered out at desirable surroundings.

"I love your dream settings," she said, pointing down the long stretch of beach. "You imagine nice beaches," she added.

"Well, I think I keep dreaming about this because I wish I was on a beach in my real-life right now," Kate mused.

"I don't blame you," Joanna said, as she pulled up a beach chair next to her daughter.

Kate's curiosity got the best of her and she started to ask some questions.

"How did you know about Castle?" Kate asked, as she turned her head to face her mother. "Or, are you my subconscious too?"

"Well first off, I am your mother, Kate," she smiled, "not quite the figure of your imagination."

Kate looked shocked. How could this be her mother and not just a phantom; a piece of her imagination? Despite her daughter's startled looks, Joanna Beckett continued talking.

"Oh yes, and I know about Rick because even though I have passed from this earth, I still make it my top priority to make sure my little girl is doing fine."

Joanna beamed at her daughter and she smiled back. Her mother proceeded to talk.

"Anyways…I must say…I favor Rick over that other Sorenson guy. I find him to be a spirit crusher."

Kate looked taken-aback about how much her mother knew about her. When she listened to her talk, it was exactly like how she used to be: She always put in her two-sense. Her next question for her mother was inevitable.

"Don't you know what Castle did to me?"

"You mean the way he bantered with you and drove you crazy or…" her voice suddenly became serious, "the file, right?"

"Yes," replied Kate, "I told him not to touch your file. He didn't listen to me and opened it anyway. He had me fooled. I thought he cared. I thought he would never hurt me and…" Kate's voice tapered-off. The old wounds of Castle's words and actions still stung badly.

Kate's mom looked thoughtfully into her daughters face and couldn't help but feel crestfallen for her.

"He did not betray you. As a matter-of-fact I know he cares about you very much."

"Oh, I guess he cared enough all right," Kate spat. "He did care to go snooping around in _your_ file just to get a Nikki Heat back story. He never cared about the old wounds that were never healed."

Joanna sighed deeply. She made sure Kate was looking at her straight in the eyes before she continued.

"I need to tell you something about that and I need you to listen."

She paused and waited for Kate to nod in approval to go on.

"Rick cared about you so much, that the night you told him your family's story, he took the file, so he could help find my killer."

"I don't believe it," said Kate.

"You can believe what you want dear, but mother knows best. Well, in this case, mother knows all."

She got out of her beach chair and kissed Kate on the forehead. Kate thought she was leaving, but then she stopped to speak.

"Sweetie, Rick cares about you so much and you have to realize that. Right now- I would have you know- he is looking for you because he suspects you are being held ransom."

"Really?" Kate asked. She knew Castle was smart, but she was surprised he picked up on the clues that were left.

"Yes, really," replied her mother. "Oh and one more thing: Be careful dear. This man, who is holding you hostage, has a very violent temper. I am sure you have noticed, but I just want you to be safe."

"Thanks mom," Kate said. Her mother's well wishes made her smile.

Joanna smiled back at her and began to leave down the stretch of beach. Kate was confused as to why her mother would leave so suddenly, when she still had so much to say. Kate ran and called after her.

"Mom, please stay! I miss you so much and I have so many things I need say! Not to mention so many unanswered questions, too!"

Her mother turned and said, "Don't worry Kate. You will be OK. I am here for you always, whether I am on this earth with you, or not."

Silence issued for a moment as the waves crashed and the seagulls flew overhead. Kate looked into her mother's eyes. They were the same as they had always been, but something was different. Perhaps it was a glitter of sadness Kate detected. Even from above, Kate's mother must worry about her constantly.

"Mom…I need to know…how you died." Kate stammered. "You do know, right?"

Her mother remained silent. Her facial features formed into a serious, solid gaze. She nodded her head up and down, slowly. Even on the beach, in pure daylight, the action sent shivers down Kate's spine.

"Well, since you know…can you tell me?" Kate asked in a bare whisper.

Her mother's eyes shifted to Kate's imaginary ocean backdrop. She sighed and turned her head, so her eyes were locked with her daughters.

"Some knowledge is meant to be revealed by certain events."

"But, mom…it's been years!" begged Kate. "I need to know."

"And you will know in time," Joanna reassured. "I have an odd inkling that you and Rick are going to be the ones who finally bring peace to me."

"But, if you know who your killer is, why aren't you at peace?" questioned Kate.

"Because, you are not at peace," she replied. "And, I cannot reveal who it was. It is not in my position to do so. It is something you will have to discover for yourself," she quickly added.

Kate ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Mom, don't you know how much easier it would be if you were to just tell me?"

"Actually," her mother pointed out, "it would be a lot harder if I told you."

"How so?" asked Kate.

"Try convincing a jury that somebody is guilty of murder because you had a dream with your murdered mother in it and in the dream she revealed who her killer was. I have a feeling that wouldn't fly over well. Plus, you would have to mention it took place on a lovely beach and your mother rediscovered her long-lost hobby of making sandcastles!"

Kate laughed in response as she remembered how much her mother really did like to make the little towers of sand.

"Well, I think it is about time for you to wake up now. You want to be awake to seize any opportunity to escape."

"You're right," Kate admitted. "I love you mom!" She gave her mother one last hug.

"I love you too, Kate! Promise that you will say hello to Rick and your father for me!"

"I promise," said Kate.

With those words, the beach faded into decrepit brick walls. The heat of the blazing sun faded into the heat of the non air-conditioned old warehouse and her mother's face turned into the face of her merciless captor.

***

"You look peaceful when you sleep," said Harrison. A wry grin spread on his face.

Kate gave him a bitter look and mumbled something he could not hear into the scarf that was over her mouth.

Harrison noticed her anger and commented.

"Well, I don't think you're in the position to call the shots. After all, you are the one tied to a chair and I am the one standing over you with a loaded gun. Just one more peep and BANG…you're history."

Harrison smirked over his own forceful words and then he picked up his gun and twirled it like he was a cowboy in a wild-west show. Meanwhile, Kate bit her tongue and held back bubbling words of anger. After a couple moments of silence, Harrison continued speaking.

"It was almost too easy to get you, Kate. All it took was one call to your office where you work. I asked if you were there to take my call and your fellow colleagues told me you were going on leave at the end of the day, so all I had to do was wait till your work was over. Then, I just had to follow you home and well…here we are!"

The thought of his own cleverness made him grin and he turned his head to Kate, who was staring at the floor. All she could think was: How did she let this happen to her? She was a detective and she did not even notice a person follow her the whole way home. Why did she feel that she had to take time off just because she felt hurt by Castle? Another thing that kept consuming her thoughts was another burning question.

Since she told the office she was taking time off, how would they ever know that she was being held hostage vs. enjoying herself on some scenic beach?

Would anybody ever be able to find her…before it was too late?

As Harrison concluded that Kate was in obvious distress, he continued his ranting.

"I want you to know, that I did not kidnap you _just because._ I had a precise reason behind my actions." He sneered and looked over at Kate. "Guess who I am after."

Kate turned to Harrison and began to mutter words of disapproval into the cloth around her mouth.

He observed her feeble attempts to set him straight and he said, "Ha, that's right! You cannot guess. You have the right to remain silent! He snickered, "I have always wanted to say that!"

"Anyways, I will tell you who I am trying to trip-up here. After what you and this mystery person did to me, I figured when I was able to spring from jail, I would get you both in one swoop. It brings a whole new meaning to the old phrase 'kill two birds with one stone,' doesn't it?" he mused. "But, as I was saying, I am out to get a specific person here. I captured you to get Rick."

Kate felt a tight knot form in her stomach. Her mother was not kidding about what was happening.

"Rick is one of those people where the only way you can get to them, is to harm somebody they care about. So, I thought you were a wonderful candidate. Rick obviously adores you, you were easy to get, and I have a personal vendetta against you, so it was all a win-win situation."

Kate rolled her eyes and grunted into her cloth.

"Oh, if you find that aggravating, wait till you hear this latest bit! I left Castle some clues to find you, which he should be able to decipher. If things go as planned, when Castle comes here he will be quite surprised. You see, I have men all throughout this warehouse and they wouldn't have the slightest problem silencing that author for good, shall we say. But, that would be after we collect his ransom money to get you back, of course! And then, I think I would kill you too because you are smart so to stay captive in one place for too long."

Kate started to shift in her chair and tried to say some words against the actions Harrison was going to undertake.

"What is it Kate? Are you scared for Castle? Well, I would be too because he will never see all of this coming!" Harrison taunted.

Kate's heart sank in her chest. If her mother was right, Castle would come to the warehouse. If what Harrison said was right, Castle would come to the warehouse _and _he would die…not to mention her days appeared to be limited as well…

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AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter from Kate's point-of-view! It was a ton of fun to write for her mother!  
**PLEASE REVIEW…NOTHING CHEERS ME UP MORE THAN REVIEWS!!!**

Thanks to my fanfiction family always---Scarlet


	5. You Found Me

**Author's Note: **I am glad to get back to this story (that took too long…like 6 months)! In this chapter we have a chilling ending, so be forewarned. We also have the ENTIRE Castle cast involved on the mission to rescue Kate from the bondage of Harrison. We even get some unexpected flirting from minor characters (caugh…Lanie…caugh…Esposito).

I have a feeling it will be worth the wait…Give me a chance and let me know what you think!

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**Chapter 5: You Found Me**

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me

Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded

Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?

Just a little late, you found me, you found me

"You Found Me"-The Fray

"Nothing is to late…

…Until a tired heart shall cease to palpitate…"---Henry W. Longfellow

***

Once you let an idea off its leash in your mind there is no turning back. It's kind of like when you let a child out of your arms. There is no telling what they will do…or how far they will go. Kate awoke with her mind blazing over an idea…a rather crazy one, too.

She awoke after just sleeping for less than an hour and God was she tired…but heck did she have a good dream. Although it wasn't one about her mother, or Castle striding up along a lonely beach to meet her, it could easily fit up on the pedestal alongside these. Her dream was very warm and simple: Castle and Kate were sitting on a porch swing, years from now, and they were just talking…entirely pleased with each other's company…growing old together. Just the thought of the dream helped her forget the ghastly situation before her.

It not only distracted her but gave her some crazy thoughts…

Why was she so angry the dream was over? Did she want the dream to be _her _future?

Kate settled on pinching her hand to give her a reality check. Dreams could wait…she had to worry about _living_ at the present moment.

Kate scanned around the room in front of her. Thank God Harrison wasn't there. He probably went to the bathroom or something. Kate wondered how long it would take for him to leave her alone…also, until now she wondered if he had a metal bladder. Suspicions denied…

After she checked to see if the room was clear, she began to slowly rotate her hands in the roped bondage to slowly, but surely, remove it. She tried to hear the voice of her old Police Training Officer and his instructions on how to escape these sticky situations. She was about half-way done when she heard a chilling whisper dangerously close to her ear.

"Kate, I am behind you…"

She didn't even care to turn her head and look at Harrison.

"Kate, I would be more careful about what you do next time. It _may_ cost you…"

Kate released a groan.

"But then again I don't think there will be a _next time_…"

He let what he said float in the air for a minute to give its haunting effect. He loved to play the game.

"I have everything I want right now…" he said twirling a pistol, "I have you…and Castle is on his way…I can be certain about that. By the way you talk about him in your sleep, you would think the two of you are married or something!"

Kate suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. What in the heck did she say? After Harrison saw her palpable discomfort, he continued.

"I want you and your…writer husband to realize what you both did. You both landed me in jail for months of agony. Heck, they almost killed me there. I am just returning the favor."

Kate felt a horrible pit of dread twist in her stomach. It didn't take an Einstein to know what was happening next.

"You've tried my patience more than a couple times. Now that Castle is already coming to this little bash, I see no reason to keep you trying my fragile patience…"

Kate shuddered as she felt a cold gun barrel against the warm skin of forehead.

"What goes around comes around, Kate. Have fun in hell."

***

(Earlier)

The second Castle clambered back to his house he put on his writer's vest and set out to get Kate back. From his conversation with Lanie they had an idea where she was. Ever since he even knew even a possibility of where she could be held, he was set ablaze with the prospect of seeing Kate again…the possibility of saving her…before it was too late, that is.

He was about to grab his "WRITER" vest out of his dresser drawer but he was interrupted by a small, "Ahem," from the back of his room.

Castle quickly turned to see his daughter Alexis sitting on his bed, arms crossed.

"Ah…hey Alexis. How are you sweetie?" asked Castle as he hid the "WRITER" vest behind his back.

"Dad, please tell me what you are doing. Whenever you take out the vest I know you are going on mission with Kate…but Kate isn't here."

Before Castle could blurt out a little white lie (to avoid his daughter's concern with his wellbeing), Martha quickly swept into the room and grabbed the vest. It totally caught her son off guard.

"So, you were going to find her," she realized out loud, "Why didn't you tell everybody at the precinct about this? They could have helped you, dear."

Castle only thought for a moment and answered, "They aren't for this mission. They said-"

Before he could finish, Ryan popped into the room and said, "We're right here for you."

"How did you get in h-"

"We wouldn't want our writer buddy to get creamed. We don't need more causality." Esposito added, coming from another door that led to his bedroom. Castle just spun around the room to see four people surrounding him in a circle with arms crossed. They weren't going to budge on this one.

"First of all…this is creepy," Castle began, "Secondly, I can do this myself. I am the reason why Kate got into this trouble and I am going to be the one to get her out."

"I don't think so writer man," Esposito assured.

"We won't hear any of this," added Ryan.

"Nope. It's never going to happen, dad, because we are going with you," said Alexis.

"Bam said the lady," finished Martha.

The room went silent for a moment.

"Anyway," Castle inquired, "How did you all get here? Who arranged this for me?"

"Meet your fairy godmother," said Lanie, who was standing beside his bedroom door. She slowly walked into the room to join the hostile circle of people who wanted Castle to have some backup on his mission.

"So what will it be?" Lanie awaited the only answer she knew he would give.

"I am going on mission with you guys…but family stays…sorry." Castle said.

"No we will stay in the car," Martha assured. Castle nodded in agreement and he bought what she had to say.

"Yah, I'll stay in the car like my son always does," Martha whispered under her breath.

The hostile circle started to laugh at her comment because they knew all too well how Castle was.

Castle turned to everybody and asked, "Hey, what's so funny?"

***

"Ok so here is how this little sucker is going to go down."

Castle, Esposito, Martha, Alexis, and Lanie, all sat in a van outside the warehouse and began to listen to Ryan's master plan.

"Ok, so I think Harrison isn't working alone based off of the people entering and exiting this building, I assume most of the people are on the main floor for stakeout. If we have somebody get their attention, Esposito and I will go upstairs and investigate while somebody keeps the guards preoccupied. That's where Martha will come in."

Castle turned over to his mother, who had a broad smile on her face, "I am going to create a rumpus by throwing a glass bottle at the dumpster they have there. That should get their attention."

"And what happens when they all come out…guns drawn at you?" Castle asked. He was beginning to get a bit angry. Didn't she say she was staying in the car?

"I am going to pretend to be a random drunk lady. It will definitely distract them and I am pretty sure they would care less."

"But how is that going to work, mother? Have somebody else do it."

"Darling, Ryan and Esposito have to go inside the warehouse," Martha pointed out. "And, I played Mrs. Hannigan, the most famous drunk, for three years on Broadway…Don't doubt my acting talents, son."

"I don't," insisted Castle, "But…I told you to stay in the car."

"Oh, I'll stay in the car, son."

Castle smiled.

"When you learn how to…"

Castle frowned.

***

Finally, after a long and drawn out van meeting, the plan was in place. It obviously entailed more than Martha doing her drunken lady skit and everybody was ready to just get Kate home, safe and sound.

_If_ they weren't too late…

Lanie and Alexis took the job of lookout in the van, and after they hooked up their headpieces and made sure Ryan and Esposito would be getting their information, they bid the pair farewell.

"What am I doing?" Castle asked.

"Staying in the car," Lanie said. She couldn't help but feel grief at echoing her best friend's words.

"I'm going in," Castle said, and he quickly bolted out of the van door before Alexis and Lanie could grab him.

Alexis wanted to shout, "Dad come back!" but she knew that would only make things worse. She smacked her head down on the controls and then turned to Lanie.

"He forgot his headset…but yet he took our last gun in the back."

"Well, at least the Lone Ranger remembered his dorky "WRITER" vest," Lanie sighed.

***

As Martha began to twirl around the parking lot and sing a painstakingly loud rendition of, "The Sun Will Come out Tomorrow," guards piled out of the warehouse like she was a bank robber. As the guards began to evaluate the situation, Lanie shouted into her headpiece, "MOVE NOW! You guys don't have much time to do a building sweep."

"Gotcha," affirmed Ryan. He motioned over to his small team and they entered the building.

"By the way you two, I want you to keep a close eye on Castle," Lanie pleaded, "He was _supposed_ to stay in the car."

"Don't worry one second sweetie, he's right here," Esposito reassured.

At these words he heard Lanie's hiss in his ear, "NEVER…call me sweetie again!"

"Whatever you say…_sweetie_," Esposito replied in his earpiece.

"Can we just stop the flirting," suggested Ryan, who started to clamber up to the first floor, "It's kind of creepy to listen to your conversations…no offense…"

"She should be in one of the first rooms to the left," Lanie said, dramatically changing the subject, "That's where I see the light coming from."

"Ok, that's where we are headed," said Ryan, and Esposito joined him to search in the rooms. Meanwhile, Castle was distracted by a blue glow coming from a room to the right. Just like a seagull he gave no thought to following the "shiny thing."

As he slowly peeled open the door a crack, the glistening blue light flooded the floor. It turned out to be the moon casting its shadow through the broken-down room. He quietly walked over to the other end of the room and froze. He couldn't believe what he saw through the darkness.

As plain as day…as cold as ice…

Kate Beckett's limp body lay face down on the floor…frozen in time…

***

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**Author's Note:** Please tell me if you like the latest chapter of the story…and if I should continue this! I think if I continue you won't be disappointed! Ha also as a side note…What happened to Will? I might have missed it at the beginning of this season but last time I checked he was in the hospital and BAM he went away. Did he go back to Boston? Is he lurking in the wings?

Lastly…

Sorry for the record-making 6 month wait! You guys are the definition of awesome for a young writer (Yes, I am quite the novice here) who gets off track too much! Thanks for leaving the comments that had the underlying meaning, "Heck girl, are you going to finish this?"


	6. When the Lights Go Down

**Author's Note:** I had the most amazing surprise last time I updated this story. Yes, it was a crowning moment! Here it is: _**I GOT 10 REVIEWS FOR ONE CHAPTER! THAT'S A RECORD!!!!!!!**_ (For me) ;)

I just couldn't believe it! I did my signature uber-embarrassing happy dance (you should have seen it) in the solace of my room and my neighbors thought I was tipsy. Well I was….I was tipsy on reviews! What I wanted to say for this whole ordeal was: THANK YOU! I can't believe I have all these people who take the time to write back! I hope you like the next chapter and you _want_ me to continue this story!

**

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**

**Chapter 6: When the Lights Go Down**

When the light has sharply faded, and you have lost your way

Let another's love guide you, it can turn the blackest night into day

~Anonymous English Poet

***

Castle felt as if his heart would almost explode. The sight of Kate's cadaverous body was horrid and he couldn't act quickly to see if she was indeed dead because his heart's palpitations were rising to his head and giving him a head rush. He also had to deal with the ghastly feeling that was rising in the pit of his stomach. Kate wasn't dead. How could she be? She was Nikki Heat, almost like a superhero wonder woman. In the comics the heroes never died. They just laughed in the end at all the people who believed they were gone. But this wasn't a comic, this was real life, and Kate was sheet white. Or was that the glow of the moon?

God, he had to throw up.

With one hand over his stomach and the other to touch the side of Kate's face, he began his daunting task. When he touched her he shuddered.

It was like reaching out to stroke snow with your bare hands.

He held his breath and stroked his hand through her hair in feeble attempt to stir her…If she wasn't dead that is. While doing this he retracted his hand because he felt something wet…and warm. He held his hand up to the moonlight and used it to fabricate his worst fear.

His hand was covered in blood…Kate's blood.

Sure enough, when he turned her limp body over, there was a huge gash in her head. As if on cue, Castle turned to the outside window and prepared to throw up. Before he could complete the action, he shuddered when he heard a sound coming from within the room. He could feel the cold touch of a gun barrel against his head. He slowly tried to reach for his pistol that he got from the car, but he didn't have it. He must have left it beside Kate. Just the thought of Kate made him feel horrid. He was too late. Well, at least he could join her in heaven or something. Wait…if that's where he'd go.

"Castle?!"

He flipped around at the sound of the sweetly familiar voice.

"Kate?!"

He looked at her there in the moonlight, she had a bleeding gash on the side of her head and her facial features looked tired and translucent; maybe a bit too eerie for a human.

"Get back!" Castle warned.

"Castle? It's me, Kate Beckett. What's wrong?" She understandably looked extremely confused.

"Wait," began Castle, "So you're a ghost and I am a ghost-"

Before Castle could get himself into his crazy world of fears, Kate put one of her hands over his heart and placed his on her heart, so he could feel each other's pulses.

"I am one-hundred percent sure we're both alive." She smiled and Castle started laughing. He let out a sigh of relief and they both sat down on the floor to settle their head rushes.

"You almost shot me back there," he said, looking at the gun still in her hands.

"Yah, well…I thought you were Harrison coming, so I played dead." Kate admitted.

"That would have been a nice welcome for the knight in shining armor. BAM…I would have been toast."

"You are not my knight in shining armor," Kate insisted. Castle looked a little bit wounded. He went all this way and she still would never love him. Well, not after he opened her mother's case.

"You are my knight in a bulletproof 'WRITER' vest," she corrected. She turned to Castle who sat next to her against the wall and watched his face turn into a wide grin. For the first time in a long time they both were smiling.

"So, how did you get that nasty beauty?" Castle asked, moving his finger up to the cut on her forehead.

"When Harrison heard you coming, he untied me, and told me to get going because he was going to see what was going on downstairs and hide me somewhere. Needless to say, he ran out of time and just hit me over the head with a gun barrel, hard."

"Sorry about that, Kate," Castle apologized, "I knew the distraction idea wasn't that good."

"Actually, it was perfect. It saved my life," Kate replied, "Harrison was right about to shoot me."

Only until Kate released these words did he notice how exhausted she looked. Being a hostage was obviously a daunting ordeal. Despite the exasperation in her face, Kate still looked beautiful. She always did.

For a moment they just stared at each other in silent reverie; basking in each other's ambiance of longing. For what…they would never tell.

As Castle silently watched Kate he couldn't help but have some old past images pop into his head. For a moment, he went back to when was his childhood self, and he had just watched a Disney movie with his mom. After the knight in shining armor came to save the lovely princess, didn't he sweep the princess off her feet to a place where they both lived happily ever after? Would he have this 'happily ever after' with, Kate? He blinked and damned the unreality of Disney movies. Happy endings never happened. He should know…he usually didn't write them in his stories.

His daydream was interrupted by Kate when she suddenly asked a pressing question.

"How's Will? Is he here to help you?"

Castle almost felt injured at the comment. This whole time he thought she was feeling the butterflies for him and he was feeling that way for her. He thought that for maybe one moment they had a shared connection, but all she could think about was darn Will. After some time, Castle found an appropriate answer to that question. After all, they did call Will about the situation and he told them to "stop playing games" and "get real." As far as Castle knew, being held hostage was about as _real_ and as _displeasing_ as it gets. Kate was _playing games_ this whole time? _That _was laughable.

"He will be glad to hear you're ok, but we have the rest of the precinct here for you" Castle replied. He hated Will, no doubt about that, but he didn't want to injure Kate. If a part of her still loved Will, Castle wouldn't ruin that for her. So, instead of uncovering the harsh truth, he blanketed it. He didn't want Kate to hit rock bottom.

"I knew he wouldn't believe you," she said. There was slight venom in her voice. "He loves just to love. He doesn't love me."

Castle paused for a moment. He felt awkward counseling her about a boyfriend he wanted her to dump in a heartbeat, but he couldn't be selfish.

"I'm sure that's not true," Castle assured. "He'd be crazy not to love you."

The words that spilled out sounded more awkward when they hit the air than when they were in his head. Kate moved closer to him and they sat side by side on the floor. There was no space separating them.

"Thank. You. For. Being. There. For. Me." she said, in an almost inaudible whisper. Castle could feel her breath, her warm _living _breath, against his ear. She was dangerously close. He suddenly reached out and held her hand. That was just an impulse. He had no idea how it got there.

"Castle?" Kate asked, "What are you doing?" She tried to look serious, but Castle could detect a smile forming on her lips.

"I was checking if you had a pulse," he lied.

"Sure," said Kate.

Castle could feel himself draw closer to Kate. She surprisingly didn't move away. He thought for sure they were going to kiss until…

"Castle," Kate whispered, "I think we should get off the floor now. Before we get another…head rush."

She removed her hand from his knee and Castle groaned as he retracted his hand form the side of her face.

"Sure," he grumbled. As he got up, he felt extremely lightheaded and almost fell until Kate helped him back up.

"We should have stayed down there," she realized.

"Yes, we should have," agreed Castle.

"I'm sorry I…" began Kate awkwardly.

"Its fine," reassured Castle. "I am just glad you're alive, so we'll have plenty of memories to look forward to. Don't w-"

But before he could finish his sentence, Kate drew him in a warm embrace. She was sure he was going to kiss her until…

"Castle, what's wrong?" she said. She stared into his eyes filled with horror. He seemed to be looking at something in the doorway of the room.

"Harrison is in the doorway," he whispered, "And he has gun held to our heads."

All the dim lights in the room went out.

Harrison could be anywhere and they wouldn't even know it.

***

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**Author's Note: **First, I hope you liked the addition to the story!

Second: I know what you're thinking, "_I just waited for an update from a tense scene just to be led into another one._" Sorry, but I promise you will like where this is going if I continue. I used to be the little girl who defied the little princess stereotype and would sit down and read "Goosebumps," series by R.L. Stine, and there would be a little cliffhanger at the end of every chapter (anybody know what I'm talking about, or did I just date myself?). Gosh it's rubbing off on me!

Please review! You help the young novice get better! I appreciate the help!


	7. Famous Last Words

**Author's Note: (Previous Chapter) **When Kate reaches out to hold Castle, he sees Harrison holding a gun to their head from his place in the doorway. Castle whispers a desperate plea for Kate to watch out…and so this chapter begins.

**P.S.** Please bear with were this is going. Yes, there is another dramatic cliffhanger but I am really enjoying writing this story. I think you will enjoy reading it. In future chapters (and in this one) there are defining Caskett moments, Caskett romance, and you will later learn about the haunting back story as to why (I believe) Castle became a writer.

With that, let the next chapter begin, and **PLEASE, PLEASE, READ AND REVIEW!** Reviews keep this novice going and they make me a better writer. Nobody could ask for a better gift! I have read them all and they MAKE my day every time and leave me with a crazed smile on my face at your kindness!

And now…I present our story…

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"**Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death."---By Anonymous **

**Chapter 7: Famous Last Words**

The second Kate heard the startling news from Castle; she spun around and fired a shot at Harrison, or better yet, where he had been. The nasty vermin had seen the attack coming and he made his way down the stairs to the first floor.

Since it was pitch black, they followed the sound of his clamoring footsteps in hot pursuit. Thank goodness the first floor was well lit and they saw Harrison leap into the basement.

"Stay behind, Castle. I'm going to get him." Kate ordered.

"I'm not staying here," Castle defied, "I lost you once and I am never going to let that happen again under my watch."

Kate looked at the severity of his face and settled on a different strategy. "Stay close behind me then, ok?"

"Close behind your behind, got it!" Castle laughed at his own joke.

"Funny Castle," Kate commended, "Now shut up."

Castle nodded in agreement.

As they rounded the creaking staircase and made their way to the basement and they were glad to find that it was also well lit. As they walked through the basement they saw shelves filled with chemical bottles. It appeared that the warehouse they were in was once used for chemical storage. Amid the shelves of hazardous materials, Kate could see a small broken down desk in the corner of the room. On the desk there were scrawled notes, maps, and phone numbers.

Kate had a feeling that this was Harrison's office desk for his new job of being a jail runaway.

In the far corner of the desk, by an old lamp, there was a framed photo. It looked like it was thrown against a wall because the glass was shattered. Out of a burning curiosity Kate picked it up and saw a captured memory from a younger Harrison and what appeared to be a his wife and a beaming little girl. She felt a pang in her heart. Life for him had been good once. It was built on the sweetest of intimacies and he had to ruin it by killing someone. She was about to show the picture to Castle, but he opened his mouth with another comment before she could say anything.

"Where is he?" asked Castle. He was crouching down by some shelves at the other end of the room, looking for any sight of Harrison.

Kate shot him a glare, put down the framed photo, and responded, "Being Captain Obvious is going to get us killed."

She began to rescan her side of the basement and she wasn't finding anything. Harrison probably went up the opposite staircase up to the first floor again. After all, why would he want to be cornered off in a basement?

On her way to get Castle upstairs, the lights went out…and the entire room was enveloped in pure darkness.

It didn't take too long for them both to go into full panic mode. The difference was Kate could hold her fear and Castle had to express it…immediately.

"Kate?" Castle asked. "Where are you?"

His hands desperately began grope around in the dark.

"I am looking for the light switch," she replied.

He tried to follow her voice to where she was. He finally caught up with her.

"That's my…"

"Sorry," apologized Castle, awkwardly.

"Here Castle, hold onto my _hand_," Kate suggested. "We need to find the light switch. I am pretty sure I just brushed against it when I was trying to get up the stairs."

"Let's hope so."

Castle couldn't help but notice that Kate's hand was shaking.

"Whoa, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm nervous," she admitted in the darkness. Her mind reamed with thoughts of Harrison standing in the basement with a loaded gun. He was ready, waiting in the darkness…like a hunter waiting for their helpless prey.

She also thought of the photo in the broken frame. She squeezed Castle's hand.

Kate began to try and say something to Castle, and at her hushed words, he spun around in the direction of her face to hear her whisper and it ended catastrophically. Their faces collided. It didn't take long for Castle to turn the mishap into their first kiss. He could feel her hand drop his and he used it to feel for her face in the darkness. He had to stop himself and remember that they were possibly sharing this room with a serial killer. But even that fact made it very hard for him to tear away. Truth be told, it was hard for her, too.

"I think this is hardly the time for-" Kate began.

Castle knew why she couldn't finish her sentence because her face was so close to his that he could _feel _her smile. No need for the light to tell him that.

"Don't worry, Kate, what happens in the dark stays there…usually," Castle warned. "You can pretend that never happened."

"Why would I do that?" Kate whispered back.

"I was hoping you would say that," Castle beamed.

They both started to laugh quietly and Castle reclaimed Kate's hand.

"Wait…I heard something," said Kate. Castle heard it too. It was a rustling coming from the left side of the room. Kate and Castle could hardly breathe they were so nervous. Whoever said that 'fear rested in the unknown' was darn right; especially when the unknown was a serial killer lurking in a pitch-black basement.

"Rick," Kate whispered in his ear, "I need you let go of my hand. Harrison is right here."

Castle still held onto her hand tightly. He felt like he was going to be very sick again.

"Trust me, please," Kate whispered.

Castle paused only for a moment and then he answered back. He whispered in Kate's ear; stressing each word he had to say.

"I. Trust. You." he whispered back and he dropped her hand immediately.

Kate inhaled and held her breath as she blindly traveled to the left side of the basement. She made every step as if she expected to have Harrison lunge out at her. Just the thought of pure blackness as your final moment of your life was horrendous. Having a serial killer shoot you in the head was horrible, too. That was definitely not the right way to go. She wanted to have a long life. She wanted her dream where she was sitting on the porch swing with Castle and they were growing old together. That's what she wanted. She wanted to be with Richard Castle. But when she blinked in the darkness, she realized there were no happy endings. Well, not in store for her anyway. She should know. Every case she worked on had strings that weren't tied down. Nothing was absolute.

She didn't want her life to be the shattered frame on Harrison's desk.

Gosh, why were her thoughts so bleak? It was as if mentally she had already given up. At least she physically didn't. She had her pistol raised in the darkness…ready to shoot.

"_I lost you once and I am never going to let that happen again under my watch."_

Kate revisited the words Castle said to her just moments before. She wanted to believe them to go on…no she needed to believe them.

"_He'd be crazy not to love you."_

She couldn't help but let her mind wander to these memories. They were where she forced herself under high emotional stress. She could remember the butterflies she felt inside as he told her this. She was glad the room upstairs was only lit by dim moonlight because otherwise he would see her blush. Now that wasn't the Beckett she cared to share with him.

"_I. Trust. You."_

God, did he drive her crazy…but at least he had a genuine heart. The thought that he would put his entire life so quickly in her hands, as he had done, moved her. Nobody trusted her _that_ much.

All of a sudden, Kate's thoughts were interrupted by a cold feeling against the side of her head. It was a gun barrel. Not this again.

Her heart raced.

Harrison let a soft whisper drift into her ear, "Say hello to Lucifer for me…"

When Castle heard the chilling words so close to where he was standing, he shuddered. Perhaps Kate wouldn't shoot in time. Maybe he could knock Harrison to the ground it was worth a try.

As Caste tried to wrangle Harrison to the floor, he lost all perception of where everything was. Kate only felt Harrison turn the gun, removing it for the side of her head, and shout, "CASTLE!"

Kate screamed and hoped she wasn't too late as she fired a shot at where Harrison was, and she heard a person hit the deck with a loud thump.

Suddenly, the lights flashed on, and Kate could hear footsteps climbing up the staircase. Maybe it was Castle trying to get help, she reasoned.

"Castle!" she shouted, "Return with backup. I think Harrison is pretty hurt. We need to get him to a hospitable."

When no reply came, Kate started to feel a gut wrenching feeling twist in her stomach.

After some time, she finally brought herself to look down at the bloody floor. She almost had a heart attack.

She had always thought Castle would get himself shot one day.

Never in a million years…would she have guessed…it would be done by her own hands.

***

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I know this is a hard one…but I know you will like the ride…

**Author's Note:** I plan to update every Friday since the week days are hectic (theatre practice has begun) **PLEASE, PLEASE, COMMENT!** (Constructive criticism welcomed, too!) I read all of them and they help me grow with my writing. I'm young and I need work, but being a writer for a living in the future would be a dream come true. I just need the boost from others. After all, just like Sir Isaac Newton said:

"_**If I have seen further, it is by**_ _**standing on the shoulders of giants**_**."**

Thanks for the help! You guys are amazing. (By now you can tell I am a total quote junkie. It's been a thing for me since I was little! Hope you don't mind the excessive quotes too much.)

;)

Love to my fanfiction family always,

~Scarlet


	8. Drowning in Air

**Author's Note:** Here is the big chapter. In it, we get to learn the tragic story as to why Castle became a writer and we get some background from our characters and how they became the people they are.

The last chapter left off when (SPOILER!) Kate Beckett accidently shot Castle.

Now that we are up to par, let's begin the next chapter (with a quote, of course). Please read and review! Tell me what you think about Castle's past story presented in this chapter!!!

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***

"It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair then there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust to the way you thought of things."---**Lemony Snicket**, Author of _A series of Unfortunate Events_

**Chapter 8: Drowning in Air**

Kate couldn't feel her heartbeat, her breathing, or anything. She was zapped back to the moment in her life that reminded her of Richard Castle sprawled out on the floor. It happened years before, but the image was not nebulous, it was as lucid as if she had a photograph of it in the back of her mind.

She thought about her mother stabbed on the floor of her old family house.

She watched him, helplessly, and the color of life was slowly leaving his child-like face. Death crept its way in. Death didn't fit any aspect of Richard Castle. He was life. Wherever he went he brought smiles and laughter. He brought Kate to life. Even though she was breathing and her heart was beating since her mother's death, that didn't mean she was necessarily _living_ more than going through the motions.

Richard Castle reminded her how to live. Now, her way to repay that was to _kill _him. She was going crazy.

She ran.

Kate ran as fast as her legs could take her, out of the basement, the dark recollections, the painful memory of the intimate encounter they had, and most of all…Castle's body. Her mind was racing at hundreds of thoughts per minute. She had to go. Where, she didn't know. She was so lost that she didn't even notice Harrison escape out the back way, or when she was going up the stairs she knocked over some chemical bottles that went tumbling to Castle below. After all, the warehouse used to be a chemical plant.

All of a sudden, amid her mad dash to nowhere, Kate found that her legs couldn't keep up with her mind and she stopped in the middle of the warehouse parking lot and held her head in between her knees. She tried to reclaim the breath that was steadily escaping her.

For the corner of her eyes she could see Lanie, Martha, and Alexis, running to her exhausted form.

"Dear, are you ok? What's w-wrong? What's happened in there? W-why are you bleeding?" Martha stuttered.

She put her arms around Kate's shoulders to support her weak frame. She tried to lightly push her off. Martha would want to kill her once she found out what _she_ did to her son. All Kate could do was to begin breathing; quick, shallow breaths, because that was all her brain could process at the moment along with the memories that kept pouring in. She could still hear the sound of the gunshot in her ear; the very gunshot that claimed Castle's life. The shot fired by _her_ own hands.

"Where's my dad?" Alexis began. Horror was strewn all over her face.

The three women waited for a reply from Kate, but when a reply never came, Lanie took action.

"Ryan and Esposito are you there?" she called into her headpiece.

"Yes," they both answered in unison from the warehouse. They could tell from Lanie's tone of voice that what proceeded was not going to be good news.

"I need you to look for Castle in the warehouse. Kate's here but he isn't," she quickly explained. "Hurry, Kate looks horrid."

The trio redirected their attention back to Kate, who fell down on the concrete. She sat there and she went into a full blown panic attack. Finally the tears came, and they came in droves.

As Lanie tried to catch her falling friend, she got some panicked voices from the other end of her headset. It was Esposito and he sounded devastated. He could hardly speak.

"Castle…Castle is…Oh my God…"

"Castle's what?" Lanie pressed. The radio signal went out. It sounded like the headpiece was dropped on the floor.

All of a sudden, all four women heard the sudden roar of ambulances' sirens and Lanie closed her eyes in a silent prayer. The ambulances had to go by; they were probably on another call.

That's what she told herself.

She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was _dead_ wrong.

***

It's a very odd thing getting shot. It was one of the most horrid events that happened to Richard Castle. There was another event that came surprisingly close, but Castle never had the nerve to share it with Kate, or anyone for that matter. She didn't want to see him get all emotional. Or, maybe Castle didn't want that for himself. As he felt the warm liquid pouring through his fingers on his chronically aching chest, he couldn't help but wish he had shared more of who he was with Kate. He just kind of silently admired her with a hushed reverie and never told her much to let her know how he _truly_ felt about her…well, if you didn't count all of the banter they shared.

God, did he love her.

He loved her even though…as he lay on the stone floor…with blood gushing out of his heaving chest, he knew for a fact that she shot him. Yes, Kate Beckett shot him. Not purposely of course. They both tried to save each other at the same time and well…it ended tragically. Castle knew he was shot by Kate because he was holding Harrison's gun barrel, in the darkness, to remove it from the side of Kate's head and that's when he felt a shot fired at him, square in the chest.

As he fell he brushed by her and got a whiff of her cherry scent.

Along with the last couple moments shared, at least he could die happy. He had kissed Kate Beckett, but he didn't want it to be a kiss goodbye, but he guessed it wasn't meant to be. He was never meant to grow old with Kate Beckett. He wanted to leave that warehouse hand-and-hand with her. He wouldn't have cared about the snickering coming from the other detectives and he hoped Kate wouldn't care either. They would leave that old warehouse knowing the fact that they were meant for each other and they should stop pretending; pretending they didn't love each other that is. That would have been a fairy tale ending if Castle ever heard one. But he shouldn't have been so hopeful…he wasn't used to happy endings.

He learned that when he was young.

When Richard Castle was a little nine year old, living in a little flat in the New York suburbs with his mother, he had a best friend named Sam Parker. He was a redheaded spitfire who was just as mischievous as little Rick Castle and then some. They were bookends and inseparable. Wherever you found impish Sam, you wouldn't be surprised to see Rick not too far behind.

It was a searing summer day way back. It was so hot you could fry your backside by just sitting on the pavement for a minute. Since the boys wanted to avoid obvious discomfort, they found refuge in an ice cream store. It was run by a jolly old man who loved their company. He didn't mind if they sat around much. He just didn't want them knocking down smaller children's ice cream comes.

"I have some things for you, buddy," Sam said. He took out a small pack of baseball cards and his small piggy bank.

He wasn't done yet because he continued to dig in his small bag.

"Why are you giving me this?" little Rick said. His brain couldn't wrap around why his friend would give him all of his precious valuables.

"Wait, Rick, I have one more thing fer ya." He pulled out a battered edition of the Hardy Boys and he placed it in Rick's small little hands. "This is fer all the readin' ya do, Rick. One day yer goin' to be n author with all that readin."

He laughed and little Rick laughed back. Since he was shy (at the time), Richard was glad to have a friend who could do most of the talking and the joking around. Sam just liked being around Rick and he didn't even have to say much. He was a real friend.

"Why are you giving me all this stuff, Sam?" Rick asked, "It's all your treasures."

For the first time in Rick's friendship with Sam, he saw him stop smiling. It was as if his words turned him into another person. Little Rick could feel the overbearing silence between him and his friend, so he tried to guess why he gave him his things. He guessed with the guesses that were expected from a nine-year-old.

"Are you going on a trip?"

Little Sam shifted in his chair and said, "Yah, I'm goin' on a trip soon. I don't know when, but I can feel like it's coming. I just want you to have the stuff fer now, that's all."

He forced a smile. Rick believed it. He believed everything was going to be fine. He was just going to do a little treasure sitting for his friend.

For some time after that, whenever Rick came to Sam's house to ask if he could come and play, his parents shooed him away and said that Sam had been bad. Rick started to think something was wrong when he came to his house day after day and got the same response from his angry mother and father. Maybe Rick shouldn't have ringed the doorbell so much. Maybe that was why they were so mad.

One day, on August 15th, Castle's mom got a call from a worried neighbor at three in the morning because they heard a loud noise coming from a neighbor's house. He crept in the hallway and heard the conversation.

"This is so horrible," Martha said, shaking her head in disgust at the terrible news she was hearing over the phone. "Sam's too young to die."

At the second Rick heard those words he bolted outside his house and had his mother chase him into the street.

"Rick, I am so sorry…Sam passed on. I thought you heard from the telephone." She wrapped her son in a warm embrace and she felt her son sob uncontrollably.

Amid the uncontainable tears he asked, "Why…why…did he have to die? Who killed him?"

Martha just gave the best answer she could give, "I don't know, sweetheart."

Even as Castle lay on the floor, bleeding out form his gunshot would, he didn't remember how long he cried there with his mother by the side of the road. The last of his memories concerning Sam involved a little gray coffin going into the ground, his non-grieving parents, and a goodbye note tucked into the Hardy Boys book. He still had that book to this very day.

Four years later, he found out that he was killed by his parents. Apparently he was abused since he was little and he never told Rick anything…except…just to treasure sit some beloved items.

It was heart rendering to find out who did it, but the "Why?" still remained. He was so obsessed with that question that, when he grew up, he tried to answer it with thousands of words that poured out in novels. Sam was right when he said, "One day yer goin' to be n author with all that readin."

He would never know it was because of him.

***

Outside of the warehouse, Lanie sat next to Kate on the ground.

"Breathe in…breathe out…"she suggested, even though she could feel her breath escaping herself as well.

As she tried to get Kate out of her attack, she watched as the ambulances pulled into the lot. Damn it.

***

Castle was still lying on the floor and he was consciously feeling horrendous pain. He could feel that there were tons of restless people around him, but he couldn't tell who they were because everything felt so hazy and foggy.

"_Is this what it feels like to die, Sam?"_ Castle thought.

As he felt people try and get him up off the floor, he could only hear random phrases like, "extreme blood loss," "chemical spill on the internal organs," "not much time," and "Kate Beckett."

Speaking of Kate Beckett…how was she at this moment? Castle hoped she didn't get shot after he fell. Now, just knowing that would kill him…if he was not dead already.

As the paramedics hauled him up and out of the warehouse, he could feel that the cart hit a bump. He felt like he was ripped from his body in a fast whirlwind. At that moment he felt absolutely no pain and he was staring at some poor fellow in a cart being rushed off into an ambulance.

"_Poor guy,"_ he thought.

He started to walk down the sidewalk and towards…_Kate Beckett_? He ran faster and he could see her closer there. She was on the pavement and her chest was heaving amid wild sobs of grief. Martha, Alexis and Lanie were doing the best to try and get her back.

"Listen Kate, can you hear me?" Lanie put her arms around her friend and tried to control her convulsions. "I lost radio signals from Ryan and Esposito, so I need to know what happened in there. Where's Castle?"

Kate couldn't answer, so Castle walked up to them and quickly shouted, "I'm right here guys!"

It was a very peculiar thing because nobody seemed to notice him. It was if he was talking to air. Maybe he should come over and comfort Kate. That way she'd be sure to notice he was there.

Kate felt a breeze whip across her face and her eyes opened wide in horror as she saw a phantom of Richard Castle holding onto her. She threw up.

Castle looked down at the scene, puzzled. Were his hugs that sickening?

Castle tried to find a logical explanation as to what was happening to him. He was right next to Kate, Lanie, his mother, and daughter, who didn't notice him. That was impossible…unless…

He got a closer look at the cart that was rolling onto the ambulance and more importantly the man that was strapped inside. God, did he look familiar…

Oh no, it couldn't be…

Yes, it was him.

Castle wanted to stay on the floor and uselessly comfort Kate, Lanie, and his family, but something besides his body being rolled away distracted him.

In the corner of his eye he could see a light. It was so beautiful…

It got brighter and brighter…

It also looked warm and inviting like it held some answers to his questions so…he walked inside it.

***

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**Author's Note:** PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! I have read all of them and I can't thank you enough for your encouragement! They really help me grow!

**P.S.** What did you think of the story of Sam (Castle's friend)? Why do you think Castle became a writer? What did you think about the chapter?

Love to my fanfiction family always,

Scarlet Royal


	9. A Stroll Down Memory Lane

**Preview (SPOILERS):** After Castle goes into "the light," he goes on a journey that is life changing. Along the way, he meets a friend form his childhood who died, his muse's mother, (Haha guess who?) and possibly even Kate (HUGE Caskett moment coming up), as Castle winds through a strange place beyond understanding. He ends up back in his childhood town…and he takes a little trip through past haunts…

P.S. I did not kill Castle (not yet, anyway), he's just going on a journey that I know you will enjoy! I GUARANTEE you'll love this chapter! It's my favorite! ;)

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Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. ~From the television show _The Wonder Years_

**A Stroll Down Memory Lane**

There were rows-upon-rows of glum suburban houses in New York. In the daylight, they used to look cheery, but something about the darkening chocolate colored sky took all the bliss away from the little town. Its luster was gone and so was its joy.

Castle found himself walking down oddly familiar street. Something about it was eccentrically recognizable. What, he didn't know.

He continued down the decrepit road and could not help but wonder what was happening to him. Why did he go into that bizarre light? Where was he?

Better yet: Was he dead?

Castle continued to let those questions pound in his mind as he walked down the lonely and abandoned streets. He looked for a clue as to where he was and he quickly found it.

He ran to his childhood home that he spotted at the end of the block.

When Castle came to the dark wood door, he found that it opened with a light push he exerted. He slowly walked inside and it set his childhood memories ablaze. He could see the portraits on the wall, the rackety grand piano, and of course, the T.V. with the bulky bunny ear antennas. It didn't matter how long it had been since Castle was in his childhood home. Home was home and you can never forget that. When you're home you have a sense of completeness. Home is a rare piece of heaven in a world that always proves to be distant.

Castle decided to sit on the family couch, just to the side of the kitchen. He found the remote and waited as the T.V. flickered to life. Maybe he could figure out what was going on. At this moment, the present date would be extremely helpful.

As the T.V. began to clear-up, Castle could see nothing that resembled any T.V. show. This was because he could see his life's memories, that he held dear, flashing on the screen. He could see Sam. They were playing in the park and they were simply enjoying the innocence of childhood. The fuzzy screen went over to footage Alexis. It showed her growing up before his very eyes into a beautiful young woman. He also saw his mother.

He saw Kate.

She was simply laughing at something silly he had said in the past. Her face was blushing as she tried to hide the fact that she was smiling uncontrollably.

The slide went on.

Castle could see the time when he was with Kate and they were watching little kids in a park when they were looking for a babysitter they needed to talk to in the little girl lost case. He watched on the T.V. as Kate said she was the "One and done type" when it came to marriage.

He sat on the couch and he was speechless. The memories were beautiful at the time, but now they were just painful. He was about to get off the couch, when he saw a new slide flip on the T.V.

It said: "FUTURE."

Castle nerviously remained staring at the T.V. and he longed for the images that flashed by his eyes. He could see himself with his daughter and she was getting older. He saw his mother laughing with him and then a strange scene came; he was sitting on a porch swing with Kate. They were just talking and holding hands. The swing was swaying in the autumn breeze. They were both incredibly happy. Even stranger, they were together.

Castle felt like he was going crazy. How could these events happen? He was dead, wasn't he?

All of a sudden, Castle tore himself away from the movie because he heard a cough coming for the other end of the room. He slowly turned around to see a man his age sitting on a chair. He had tastefully styled red hair, deep freckles, and cocoa-brown eyes that were carefully concentrated on Castle.

"You can go crazy watching that thing," he said. He walked from his chair in the back of the room and walked to the T.V. to turn it off. When he was done, he stood there and transfixed his strong gaze on Castle. He let out a crooked smile that Castle had seen somewhere before.

"S-Sam? Is that you?" He could feel his heart jump inside.

Sam didn't respond at first, but he walked over to a bookshelf near the T.V. and picked up the Hardy Boy's book.

"I remember giving this to you years ago. I knew you would be an author, bro. I was rooting for you all the way. I'll have you know that." He sat next to a stunned Castle on the couch and gave him a playful slap in the back. He looked at Castle's dazed face and said, "Hey look buddy, I know this is a lot to digest but we have things we need to do and not much time to do it. I need you to _trust me_, okay?"

"After all this time, I don't know what to say to you…" Castle began, "I am speechless…"

Sam let out a great laugh and he slapped Rick on the back again. "You? Speechless? You're a writer, bro!"

"_Was_ a writer," Castle corrected. Sam's face grew serious.

"If I have anything to say about you living or dying I will say this: You are _NOT_ going to die if you trust me. Even if the big man has rules against it…don't worry."

"You're not going to follow the rules?" Castle asked. "Rules of what?"

"That does not matter," Sam said with a smile, "Rules unspoken are meant to be broken, Rick. You told me that."

"I guess I did," Castle remembered.

"Now, what we have to do is, we need to meet somebody at a restaurant we used to go to and then we need to beat the clock. Time is of the essence here because on earth you are on life support, now. You might wake up from here."

Castle furrowed his brow, "You mean this is heaven?"

"No," Sam replied.

"Hell?" Castle began to get worried.

"No."

"Am I dead, then?" Castle persisted.

"No."

"Am I alive?"

"No."

"What am I then?!" Castle began to get a bit frustrated.

"You're in the In-Between." Sam said, in matter of fact way.

"In between life and death?" Castle asked.

"Yes," Sam nodded, "This is where you go when you are unconscious and you are close to death. It's a place where you go to be spared of the pain. It's too much for any human to bear and that's why I called for you."

"Are you dead?" Castle felt dumb asking but he had to.

"Yes," his reply was hushed and he cast his eyes to the floor.

"I am sorry but I have to ask this again," Castle went on, "So am _I_ dead?"

Sam didn't seem to hear the comment because he checked his Bugs Bunny watch he had when he was a kid. "We are running out of time and we have places to see and people to meet. Your questions will have to wait."

"Sorry," Castle apologized.

"No problem, bro." Sam smirked, "All these details are the reason why I can use your books as dumbbells after I enjoy reading them."

After flashing his toned arms, Sam let out a chuckle and led Castle out of his childhood home and into the dark night and the chocolate colored sky.

***

"You remember this place?" Sam asked as he opened a door to a small little family restaurant, "After all, this literally is a stroll down memory lane."

Castle smiled, "This is 'The Hub'! We used to go here every weekend, remember? My mom would take us here every Saturday!"

"I'll never forget that." Sam grinned, "My stomach won't either. We ate _so_ much here."

As they rounded the hallway where you could hang your coat, they were greeted by the quaint little booths that were inhabited by people who were eating and chatting away. It was such a refreshing scene compared to the ghost town outside.

"Who are these people?" Castle asked. "Are they in the In-Between?"

"I know you are going to hate me for my ever redundant answer," Sam warned, "But the answer is: no. These people are how you remember them, Rick. These are _your_ memories. Well, everybody except one person you need to meet."

Castle looked puzzled. Sam tried to help by saying, "Hey look bro, I know this is really confusing to you, but like I said we have things we have to do before the night is up. There are people you need to see and things you have to resolve. _Trust me._ Will you?"

Castle nodded.

Sam observed that they reached an understanding. "Thanks, Rick," he replied, "Now we have to go to that booth at the end of the row. There is a lady there. See, she's playing solitaire with the cards. Do you see her? She has brown hair."

Castle nodded and he joined Sam as he sat down at the mystery lady's table.

"I brought you some company," Sam told the lady. At the sound of his voice she immediately gathered up the cards form the table and looked up at the new arrival.

"He's even more handsome in person," she beamed. "I daresay if I was alive, and I was about to meet you, I would have my breath taken away," she shook her head and added, "Well, too late for that…" She took Castle's hand and kissed it.

Castle couldn't help but let a blush show on his face from the greeting, "To whom do I owe this pleasure?"

The lady let out a laugh and took a sip from her martini glass, "You can guess, writer boy. I have to have _some_ fun."

At the challenge, Castle began to take in the lady's keen features. She had brown hair, a sharp jaw line and eyes that had the ability to smile. She must have been older but her smiling face prevented him from guessing an age. She had a timeless aura about her.

"I have seen you before," Castle began, "I don't think I ever had the blessing of meeting you however…"

"Very good." The woman smiled and passed a martini glass to Castle. "You're a clever one."

Castle took the glass and took a sip. He thought for some time and kept glancing up at the mystery woman and Sam as they continued the conversation. Something about the way she smiled, the clear way she spoke, and the way she laughed. It was a haunting similar to somebody he knew.

"You remind me of Kate Beckett," Castle concluded aloud, "You're a bit bubblier, but other than that, you are _just_ like her."

The lady gave Castle a playful shove on the shoulder, "Really? I remind you of Kate? How so?"

"Your smile, the way you talk, your jaw, how beautiful you look and…"

"I take it she was somebody very special to you?" the woman cut-in. Her curiosity visibly burned in her eyes.

"She was," Castle admitted, "Kate was there for me through so much. She let me bug the hell out of her and at one point I found out she didn't mind that I walked alongside her every day. One of my last memories is when she…she well…"

Castle's voice tapered off. He didn't quite know if this audience would like to hear about their little encounter in the darkness of the warehouse basement.

"She kissed you," finished Sam. He took some mashed potatoes form a tray and put them on his plate after jokingly adding an eyebrow wiggle. "I saw the _whooooole _thing."

"Wait, you can see me and what I do?" Castle wondered aloud.

"Maybe I can…maybe I can't," Sam replied. He flashed a quizzical smile. "But anyway, back to what you were saying, I am really shipping this romance between you and Kate. It's the height of my entertainment up here. Oh the banter…"

"And the fighting…" the mystery lady added.

"And the drama!" Sam continued.

"And the comedy…"

They both went on for some time like that until they were finished using just about every adjective that could describe Castle and Beckett's relationship. Castle started to space out and they both took immediate notice.

"Anyway, we just wanted to take this opportune time while you're getting your heart surgery to talk to you," the woman said.

"I am getting heart surgery right now?" Castle asked, "why can't I _feel_ it?'

"That's beside the point dear," the lady pressed, "If you are to survive this, there are some things you have to do with this relationship. You know…the one between you and Katherine Beckett."

Castle thought for a moment and said, "You guys are both really great but I don't think you can see the whole picture here. I am the one chasing her and she will never be caught. She's a free person like that. I can't tie her down."

"I think I know her a bit better than you dear," the woman said. She rolled her eyes and smiled at Rick.

"You knew her?" Castle inquired.

"Heck, yes," Sam replied. He started to laugh and exchange glances with the mystery lady who was also laughing.

All of a sudden, Castle pictured a photograph in his mind. He knew this woman. He knew her from a file at the precinct.

"You're…you're…" he began.

"Joanna Beckett," she finished.

"Oh." Castle stuttered. He began to feel extremely self-conscious. He was always hated by the mothers of women he met. He just hoped he didn't say anything to ruin this relationship, too.

"Don't feel uneasy," Joanna reassured. "That's why I didn't tell you who I was in the first place." She took a bite out of her pie, "I thought you would be a little less frightened."

"Sorry, I don't mean to be…" Castle admitted, "I'm just a bit self-conscious…that's all."

Mrs. Beckett laughed and put an arm over Rick's shoulder, "Don't worry about me. I am a fun loving mom who just happens to approve of her daughter's choice in men. _This_ time around…"

Rick smiled and began to feel a bit easier.

"I needed to tell you that Kate loves you. I know that. I just want you to act upon that. Love as a _verb_ is better than the love as a _noun_ that you have to carry around in your heart," Mrs. Beckett explained. "When you wake up from all of this, I want you to _love _her. Hear me? My daughter was broken and you picked all of the pieces. I want you to love her."

Castle absentmindedly took his gaze off of Joanna Beckett and he began to twirl the olive in his martini glass, "I do love her. But, how can I do that when I am in this place? How _can_ I love her when I think I am dead ?"

Joanna Beckett could sense the longing and hurt in his voice. She didn't take it as anger. She took it as love.

"All you have to do is call her," Joanna said. "Call her and she'll be here."

"You have to wish she's here, too" added Sam, "But not before we say goodbye."

He stood up from the table to where Castle now stood and he gave him a hug.

"I am sorry to leave you again, bro," Sam said. Tears fell from the corner of his eyes. "You have a nice life ahead and I'll be watching here…with Mrs. B. I won't miss a moment. I just have to make sure _you_ don't miss a moment with your life. That's why we need to part."

"I'm Sorry," Castle said. He looked up at Sam who was bound to this world forever.

"Sorry for what, chum?" he asked.

"I didn't know how to help you when I was young," Castle admitted, "I didn't see the signs of your parent's abuse…and you would have still been living."

Sam wiped his tears and he put a hand on Rick's shoulder. "Never…ever…blame yourself for what happened to me. You were the only person I could run to on earth. You would sit and talk to me for endless hours when I was lonely or felt like giving up on life. You were the only reason strived to live. For that, I am forever grateful."

Castle didn't know how to reply to his friend's words but he felt a weight be lifted off his heart. It was like a chain was taken off. Before Castle could say anything, Sam walked out of the little family restaurant after a wave and his still impish smile.

"I am going to have to leave you too, dear," replied Mrs. Beckett. "Time grows old like we all do. It's time to go."

Castle gave her a warm hug and kissed her on the hand. She let out a giggle and winked at him as she began to walk out of the restaurant. Castle shouted after her.

"You can't leave me here! I still have so many questions to ask you…I also have to know how you died…I have to know for Kate."

She stopped in her tracks at the question and she gave Rick a serious stare, "There is a time and a place for everything, Rick. You have to solve my murder with Kate and it will help you two understand each other. Some things are meant to be."

Castle nodded in agreement. Mrs. Beckett kissed him on the cheek and began to leave. Castle shouted out again.

"You can't leave me here. I don't know where I am going." He pleaded.

"Let your heart lead the way," Joanna suggested. "People may die, love does not."

With a turn of her heel and another laugh she was gone and she left Rick with just the sound of her voice echoing throughout the restaurant.

Castle closed his eyes and remembered Kate. He recalled her smiling face, her bravery, her courage, and her love.

In his desperate loneliness, he wished she was there.

***

After Kate watched Castle's body being rolled into the ambulance and she saw his ghost, she went into full hyperventilation. Her body was being denied precious oxygen. She could hear the voices of Lanie, Alexis, and Martha urging her to breathe.

She would if she remembered how.

Amid all the pain coming from her body she suddenly felt relief. A familiar voice was calling. The light looked like it held the answers to unanswered questions…it also looked so warm and inviting…so she walked into it.

***

Castle felt so empty. He walked through the restaurant looking for Kate. He had wished that she was there, didn't he?

He was about to give up, when he looked out from the back patio of the restaurant and he saw her. She was on a bench overlooking a pond.

"Hey, Kate," Castle said. She immediately directed her attention over to him. She looked extremely frightened in the moonlight.

"I-I am so sorry, Castle. I d-didn't m-mean to kill y-" Kate began to sob and her words could no longer flow from her mouth. Castle took this time to move next to her on the bench. He reached out and put a supporting hand on her shoulder.

Kate could _feel_ the embrace. She was scared as to why that could occur.

"I can feel you hug me," Kate said, form Castle's warm embrace.

"I can feel you hug me, too," Castle added.

They both knew where this was going.

"Does this mean I'm…we're…"Kate began.

"Dead?" Castle finished. "I don't know. Sam and your mother told me that I was in the In-Between. It's like a clubhouse between life and death. We are here to dull the pain of our injuries. That's why I called you here."

"My mother was here?" Kate asked, "What did she say? Who's Sam?"

"I'll take the questions in opposite order, dear," Castle smirked. "Sam was my best friend growing up. As you can guess, he's been dead ever since…since…well, his parents killed him when he was nine. I'll never forget that and to this very day I still wonder why. I wonder how people could kill somebody like that. They just destroyed innocence…"

Castle stopped because his voice couldn't continue. Kate watched his face concentrate on something far away in the pond. She slowly reached out and squeezed Castle's hand. He smiled. "That's why you write…"

"Exactly…" Castle agreed.

There was some silence for some time and Kate became conscious of the fact that she was holding Castle's hand a bit too tightly. Castle wiggled his eyebrows jokingly and Kate almost retracted her hand.

"Now that you enough about the secret life of Richard Castle to last eons, it's time to talk about what your mother told me." He reasoned. "Your mother was here. I saw her and she said…well…"

He had no idea how he was going to tell Kate what her mother told him. He watched Kate shift uncomfortably on the bench. She retracted her hand form his and she ran it through her hair.

"What did she say?" Kate asked. She was looking at Castle straight in the eye now.

"She said that you love me," Castle blurted, "Underneath all of this…you love me. That's what she said. She told me to love you and I want to love you. Will you let me?"

Kate carefully put her folded hands in front of her mouth to conceal any emotion. She finally had something to say to that.

"You look like you're asking me if I killed somebody…" she lifted her hands to reveal a shy smile, "Do I look that guilty to you?"

"Well you know what they say…" Castle began. He moved dangerously close to Kate on the bench. She could smell spearmint on his breath. "Love is murder when people deny things."

Kate felt herself being drawn into this intoxicating aura. Her worries were now evanescent. She looked deeply into Castle's eyes and asked, "Denying what?"

Castle brought his arm to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. He allowed himself to get lost in her eyes for a moment.

"When they deny that they love each other."

"That's not true," Kate began, "How do you know I don't love you back? Don't you know…I…I…love y-"

Before she could finish what she had to say, she thought she would rather show him what she meant. She reached out for his face and kissed him in the moonlight. He kissed back.

After some time they both broke and at the same time said, "I love you."

Kate let out a broad grin and shouted, "Jinx, buy me a coke."

"Oh come on!" Castle chuckled, "Out of all possible times…"

He kissed her on the side of the face. Kate blushed. Suddenly a light shone in the sky by the pond. It replaced the moon and it grew very bright.

"What is that light?" Kate asked.

Castle stood up from the bench and offered Kate his hand. She took it and they both kept walking until they reached the end where the light met the land.

"Kate, I think this is the light form the life we have left on earth," he smiled and pulled her inside it. "I think we have a lot of memories to make."

***

* * *

**AN:** See, it was a long one, but I hoped you liked it! Even thought things are looking brighter for Beckett and Castle, some obstacles lie ahead. How awkward is it going to be for them to mention this sequence when they are back? (Highly!) Now that Harrison and his main cronies have escaped, and Castle is unresponsive, will they ever believe Kate? Will they trust her that there were criminals in that warehouse even though she has no evidence to prove that? Will they come to the painful conclusion that Kate shot Castle intentionally?

Or: Will Harrison find them and finish off what he intended to do?

Please follow the story! I love writing it and REVIEWS make my life! (not my day…my life) I READ THEM ALL!

;)

Anonymous reviews welcomed, too! I have a ton of you guys reviewing…its beyond awesome! No words can describe the super cool floating feeling I have here....

**PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!---**

Love to my fanfiction family forever,

Scarlet


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